When asked to bring a team of about 10 people to the top of a steep ramp located in the Storrs Pond ropes course, fellows from President Barack Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative first attempted to climb the ramp individually. After a few trials, some fellows crounched on their knees, enabling others to step on their backs to reach the top, while those at the top pulled up those at the bottom by their wrists. Soon the group completed the challenge.
Twenty-five young professionals from sub-Saharan Africa, all under 35 years of age, are participating in workshops run by the Rockefeller Center, Tucker Foundation, Thayer School of Engineering and Tuck School of Business on various topics including design thinking and entrepreneurship. The fellows will continue their courses, which culminates in final project, until July 26, when they will go to Washington for a summit with Obama.
Fellows said that program has broadened their skill sets and exposed them to new perspectives.
Mellisa Mazingi, a fellow who is also managing director of fashion events at the Zimbabwe public relations company Runway Productions, said that the program has exposed her to diverse perspectives.
She said that learning about the structural and systemic aspects of entrepreneurship will complement the intuitive entrepreneurial skills that most fellows possess.
Ramatoulie Gassama, a fellow and the public relations officer at Ace Communications Executive in Gambia, said that the program has equipped her with skills for her future career.
Liginiku Octavian Millinga, a fellow who works as a marketing manager for Vodacom Tanzania, said he looks forward to building a network with the other fellows and the Dartmouth community.
“I’m just calling for the Dartmouth students to reach out to us whenever they have a project that they think they can execute in Africa,” he said.
Hosting the program, alongside 20 other institutions, will increase the College’s international profile, as it allows students and faculty to interact with talented international young adults, Dickey Center director Daniel Benjamin said.
In the following weeks, Tuck professor Gregg Fairbrothers and volunteer assistants Catalina Gorla and William Nisen will teach an entrepreneurship seminar on the business elements of design thinking. The fellows will meet venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in the Upper Valley and Boston, and for their final projects, they will pitch their business models to entrepreneurs and investors, Fairbrothers and Gorla said.
Tucker Foundation program manager for fellowships and internships Kara Wakefield said that Tucker has prepared a co-curricular program on community engagement and services, through which the fellows will meet various non-profit organizations in the Upper Valley once a week.
Rockefeller Center program officer Vincent Mack said that the weekly leadership seminars will encourage the fellows to examine the concept of leadership more critically.
The Dickey Center has also organized several public events to introduce the fellows to the student body. Dartmouth African Students Association, International Students Association and Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering have been involved in the program as assistants and as part of the welcome crew, Dickey Center student programs officer Amy Newcomb said.
Kofi Obeng-Asiedu, program officer for the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, said that the fellows at Dartmouth will be able to acquire knowledge and skills that they can bring home.
“They are setting the fellows up to think critically on how to brainstorm and how to design, how to be innovative,” he said. “The session so far has been very experiential, hands-on, getting the fellows engaged.”
Participating schools matched the $100,000 grant that the State Department awarded. Dickey Center associate managing director Thomas Candon said that the funding has been used to provide workshop materials, meal plans and residential spaces for the fellows.
